GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Confluence returned to Grand Rapids Friday and Saturday to celebrate all things “STEAM.”
The festival, which focuses on science, technology, engineering, the arts and mathematics, is in its third year.
“We thought, you know, there’s a lot of innovation happening around West Michigan but there’s not a lot of opportunities to bring that innovation down to the street level, so that’s what we wanted Confluence to be— that platform for what’s happening on esports to come together, what’s happening on robotics to come together, so we have a lot of interesting areas that we continue every year, but we also introduce new areas every year,” Confluence Executive Director Brian Cohen said.
Aside from esports and robotics, Confluence also featured live music and a variety of vendors, including Ferris State and Grand Valley State universities, Frederik Meijer Gardens and Xfinity.
Plus, there was a new focus this year: aviation.
“We’ve got folks from the airport, from West Michigan Aviation Academy, some groups from Kalamazoo and they’re going to have vehicles to explore, flight simulators, drones, so a whole thing on how you get something up in the air,” Cohen explained.
The first Confluence was held at Calder Plaza. The next year, it moved to Studio Park. This year, it took place at Rosa Parks Circle— the heart of downtown Grand Rapids.
“The city reached out earlier and said, ‘Confluence is growing. Why don’t you look at putting it right in the center of downtown?’ so that was a signal for us that the community is really embracing this. We’ve grown every year,” Cohen said.
Being in the mix of the city’s hustle and bustle allowed people simply passing by to stop and get in on the action.
“Video games, yes, it can be incredibly competitive and can be, like, it can be a career, but also at the same time, video games are just something you can have fun in,” Kat Flynn, a student assistant at GVSU’s Laker Esports Center (LEC), said.
Flynn hopes esports, specifically, continue to become more inclusive to all types of people in all different age groups.
“It’s a double-edged sword of it is definitely much more accessible but it is still a very male-dominated field and industry, but things of, like, I know Valorant has Game Changers where it is just marginalized genders are able to play and it’s opening the door,” Flynn said. “You can get in at any point. I know people that started playing games, like, as late as 40 years old and they still find that, kind of, joy. It’s never too late and also to remember it is just a video game. It’s just pixels. If you’re not finding joy in it, take a break.”
